Egypt's highest court, the Court of Cassation, rejected the appeals of
Mostafa Bakry and his brother Mahmoud Bakry, editor-in-chief and deputy
editor-in-chief, respectively, of the weekly newspaper Al-Osboa.
The two, who were free pending the high court ruling, had been sentenced
to prison in 1998 after being convicted of libeling Mohamed Abdel Aal,
head of Egypt's suspended Social Justice Party. On June 2, the journalists
were taken from their homes and transferred to Mazraa Tora Prison, south
of Cairo, to serve out their sentences.

The case stems from articles the journalists wrote in 1996 in the opposition
daily Al-Ahrar, which Mostafa Bakry was editing at the time, accusing
Abdel Aal of financial misconduct. In May 2003, the State Security Court
sentenced Abdel Aal to prison for taking bribes from businessmen in exchange
for not writing about them in his party's newspaper, Al Watan al-Arabi.

August 11, 2003Posted: February 4, 2005

Reda Helal, Al-AhramMISSING

Helal, an editor with Egypt's semiofficial daily Al-Ahram, has
been missing since August 11, 2003. Helal, considered controversial by
some because of his outspoken support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq, was
last seen entering his home in the capital, Cairo, on the afternoon he
disappeared. Local journalists say there is little evidence pointing to
who kidnapped him, or if he was even kidnapped. CPJ continues to investigate
the case.